Via Franz Pieper, Kirche und Kirehenregiment – Dreiundzwanzigster Synodal Berieht der Allgemeinen Deutschen Ev. Luth. Synode von Missouri, Ohio und Andern Staaten, [St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1896, p. 40-41]
Our entire synodical arrangement has the very opposite purpose. Through it we work to assist one another so that the Word of God and nothing but the Word of God rules in our midst. The Visitors see to it that in their circuits everything is done in the congregations according to God’s Word; the District Presidents have a similar duty in the entire district, and the synodical president in the entire Synod. Therefore also we elect as visitors and presidents, not people who are perhaps clever with documents or are better versed than others in our Svnodical Handbook, but people who are welI experienced in God’s Word and are better able than others clearly to present and apply it in reference to existing circumstances. The supervising offices established by our synodical order are not to supplement God’s Word, but serve God’s Word, so that it – God’s Word – might hold sway… The church structure of the Synod should not be erected as a rule alongside of and ultimately over the Word of God but the entire structure of the Synod must serve the one and only rule of the Word of God.
As Laurence L. White comments on this text: “Our increasing dependence upon handbooks, bylaws, and human regulations is indicative of our decreasing dependence upon and confidence in the Word of God. Pieper warns that the cry for ever stronger government within the church and greater power for church officials is symptomatic of a fundamental misunderstanding of the church’s nature and purpose. He noted that this misunderstanding has led to a long line of false church governments from the papacy to the American Synods with legislative powers.
Institutional conservatism leads to legalism, coercion, and endless struggles for denominational power. At the same time, it stifles the confessional impulse and turns our attention inward upon ourselves and our own intramural battles. The fathers of our Synod were confessional ecumenists – without any of the unsavory connotations which attach to the concept of ecumenism today. Their aversion to unionism and syncretism is renown. Their unwillingness to compromise or water down Lutheran doctrine was absolute. Yet they maintained a lively awareness of and interest in theological developments throughout Lutheranism and Christendom. They were ready and eager to break new ground in finding ways for substantive doctrinal discussion – constantly pursuing opportunities to offer the good confession. They founded church publications like Der Lutheraner and Lehre und Wehre in which doctrine was fearlessly, forthrightly, and constantly discussed. They organized free conferences and participated in theological discussions throughout the United States. They were initiators and innovators, aggressively advancing the faith once delivered to the saints, They recognized that their confessional obligation did not allow them to withdraw into their own parochial little world. They were also fully cognizant of the fact that the history of Christendom did begin in 1847 and that they were part of a broad stream of orthodox teaching and practice that stretched back across the centuries.”
Perhaps there's no better understanding of the real theme of our lives too, & the life of our world: it's God's... 
